JUST over £28m is to be spent on transport projects in North Yorkshire this year following an improved financial settlement from the Government as part of its council tax "cushion.''

It has been announced that the authority administering England's largest county is to have its transport allocation increased to £28.6m compared with £26.4m in 2003.

A county council spokesman said the funding has been allocated because of the authority's highway record, which saw it reach the top 10pc of all local transport authorities in the country.

The spokesman added that road safety schemes and maintenance plans would be among priorities for the county.

During the past 18 months, the authority had improved more than 800 bus stops, strengthened 70 bridges, undertaken about 260 structural maintenance schemes, completed more than 100 road safety initiatives and started work on eight town centre management strategies, including those in Northallerton and Easingwold.